All Bottled Up
by darkXmai
Summary: Sakura's heart is broken, shattered. When Sasuke comes back, her hopes rise, and are destroyed when she finds out he is with another woman. Eventually SasukeXSakura and KarinXSuigetsu
1. Chapter 1

**All Bottled Up**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**OK, so, chapters 1-6 are really short and kinda pointless... But i'm too lazy too rewrite them :P but from chapter 7 and up, they get better and longerr. EnJoY :)**

Sakura Haruno hated her life. Despised it with every ounce of her shattered heart. Most people would question her sanity, but they new better against it. After all how could she _not _have a perfect life?

Sakura surpassed the fifth Hokage, Tsunade. She's made it to Anbu. She's the strongest kunoichi in the medical field, and on top of that she can make the earth tremble beneath her will. Sure, Sasuke walked out on her, and her parents got ambushed, but life couldn't be completely fair.

Here's how Sakura saw it. She surpassed the Tsunade, sure. But she's still not strong enough to bring Sasuke home. That to Sakura is failing. She's made it to Anbu, yeah. But what's the use if all they needed her in was the medical field. She couldn't get any stronger by that. And she can make the earth tremble beneath her will. But there is a limit. Knowing that she might never see her parents again, didn't make her feel any better. And when Sasuke walked out on _her_, it sent her world crashing down.

Sakura put on a happy face everyday, for the sake of Naruto and her friends. But inside she was dying. She couldn't deny the face that she still had feelings for that stupid traitor. He was _still _making her feel annoying and weak, and he wasn't even there.

But, since she still had hope he was coming back, she made it through the day. Sakura sighed, and put her happy mask on. She headed out of her apartment into the crowded streets of Konoha.

xxx

Sakura was walking towards the hospital, to make her daily rounds. She suddenly stopped when Shizune was making her way towards her.

"Sakura, Tsunade needs to see you in her office right away." Shizune said.

Sakura nodded, and gave Shizune a fake smile. Nobody has ever seen through her façade except for Sai, but that was typical of him. He's too observant.

Shizune returned the smile, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Wondering what Tsunade might want with her, she headed towards the Hokage Tower. What could Tsunade possibly want with her? A mission? Yeah, that was probably it. Before she knew it Sakura found herself in front of the fifth's office. She saw Naruto sitting impatiently outside her office.

"Good morning, Naruto!" Sakura said cheerfully as she could.

Naruto looked up from the floor, and a huge grin spread across his face.

"GOOD MORNING, SAKURA-CHAN!" He yelled loud enough to cause her ears to ring.

"Naruto, you baka, keep it down! Tsunade might be in a meeting." Sakura chided, as she hit him over the head.

"AH, Sakura-chan, that hurt!" Naruto whined.

'Stupid, Naruto.' Sakura thought, but she couldn't help from smiling. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she heard a 'come in' from Tsunade. Sakura opened, and held the door out for Naruto.

Tsunade has the 'I-need-sake' look on her face. She looked at Sakura, then looked at Naruto, and looked at Sakura, again.

Tsunade took a deep breath, and started speaking.

"As you may or may not know, Sasuke and his new team have returned." Tsunade said, as she waited for Sakura and Naruto to process the information.

At first it was silent. The air was thick with tension. And of course, Naruto broke it.

"WHAT?" Naruto asked, disbelieving.

"Don't make me repeat myself Naruto," Tsunade said.

"I know for a fact that you know his 'goals' in life" Tsunade continued.

"To kill Itatchi, which has been done and to revive his clan."

Sakura couldn't believe it. Sasuke was…_back_? Tsunade said something about probation, and eight months, but she didn't want to listen anymore. Uchiha, left her and Naruto for five years, and he has the right to come back, like nothing's happened? Sure, Sakura had always wanted him to come back, and as expected she was angry. But she didn't know, in reality, that's she'd be _this _furious.

"Sakura you've been quiet," Tsunade said.

"Is there something you would like to say?" She asked.

Tsunade knew about Sakura's feelings towards Sasuke, but she had never asked her about them. Tsunade _knew _that is was a touchy subject, therefore never asked Sakura about it.

Sakura snapped out of her trance. She put on one of her famous _fake _smiles and said,

"I'm glad he's back."

Tsunade stared at Sakura intently.

"Very well," She said.

"Team Hebi is at the Uchiha compound, if you would like to see him. Dismissed." Tsunade said as she waved her hand.

"I need sake." She muttered, as Naruto and Sakura _slammed_ the door shut.

xxx

**Sakura Pov**

As soon as we were out the door Naruto looked at me with curious eyes. He asked me if I was going to go visit _him_. I thought about it, and decided against it. I needed time to let the information sink in. I told him I had a group of seriously injured ninjas that I needed to attend to immediately, which wasn't completely a lie. I did have to attend to injured ninjas, but none of the injuries are serious.

He looked at me again with sad eyes, and said that he wanted to go see _teme_. I gave him one of my fake smiles, and said good bye. Then Naruto sped of toward the Uchiha compound.

I slowly turned the other way, and headed towards my apartment. There are three ways I usually dealt with my problems. The first way is to face it head on, and in this case it was close to impossible. The second way is to cuddle with my blankets and stare out the window with my mouth open. I had a feeling that wouldn't help much. The third way is to preoccupy my mind with something else. It was the best option, so I changed my direction to the hospital.

What I saw next was not what I was prepared for.

**MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I love cliffhangers :) I hope you like it! I'll try to update every week.**

darkXmai


	2. Chapter 2

**All Bottled Up**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**With Naruto**

After 6 minutes and 37 seconds of running, Naruto finally reached the Uchiha compound. He didn't even bother to knock; he kicked the front door open, and ran inside. He searched the living room, but the Uchiha wasn't there.

"TEME!" Naruto yelled, furiously.

"Where the hell are you?!?"

He started opening random doors, but the Uchiha as still nowhere to be found.

"Damn it Uchiha! Show yourself!" Naruto continued yelling.

He opened the last door; it was empty. 'Shit.' Naruto thought. 'I just missed him.' Naruto exited the Uchiha household. He clenched his fists, and went to find Sasuke.

xxx

**With Sakura**

Sakura couldn't believe what she saw. There in front of her were her parent's battered, bruised, and bloodied bodies. They were on stretchers, being led to the hospital by other medical ninja. 'Oh my God,' Sakura thought.

Sakura noticed Shizune at the back of the group. Shizune noticed her staring, and started running towards her.

**Sakura Pov**

I saw my parent's lifeless bodies pass by me. I wanted to go help them, but I couldn't. It was like my legs were glued to the ground. I wanted to scream and yell. But my throat was dry. I wanted to break down crying. But there were no tears left to cry. There were so many things I wanted to do. But I couldn't.

I noticed Shizune was running towards me. I prayed to Kami that she was going to tell me they were going to be alright.

"Sakura?" Shizune questioned warily.

I looked up at her and nodded, to show her that I noticed her presence. Shizune continued to tell me that my parents collapsed in front of the Konoha gates. They were being held prisoners by Sound ninja. Somehow they have managed to escape, and are being medically treated as we speak.

I simply nodded. I asked her their chances of survival. Shizune gave me a sad smile, and said:

"They could go either way."

I could feel something die inside of me. I didn't know what, but something was definitely missing. Shizune then asked me if I was alright, if I needed somebody to talk to.

"Shizune, can I heal their wounds?" I asked softly.

"Sakura, I'm afraid you cannot. Since you're emotionally involved, it might mess up your performance." She gave me another small smile.

"But don't worry, Tsunade will be attending to them." Shizune said.

Shizune then told me that she would help out as well, and that she'd better get going. I nodded at her. With yet another small smile, she sped of towards the hospital.

xxx

**With Naruto**

Naruto had been searching for Sasuke for fifteen minutes and he still hadn't shown up. Neither did one of Sasuke's new _team _members. He had searched over half of Konoha. The only places left were Team 7's old training grounds, Ichiraku, and the streets that lead to Sakura's apartment. Sakura's apartment was closest so he decided to continue looking there.

'I have been looking everywhere for you Sasuke!' Naruto thought. 'Where are you!?!'

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard crying. It was Sakura. 'Sakura!' Naruto thought alarmed. He increased his speed tenfold, and stopped abruptly in front of her.

"Sakura!!!" Naruto yelled.

"Are you ok? What happened?" He asked quieter this time.

"My parents." She squeaked out.

"What about them?" Naruto asked gently.

Sakura then continued to explain to him how they collapsed in front of Konoha, how their survival chances were low, and how she couldn't do anything to help them.

Naruto looked at her with a worried look in his eyes, which then turned to a sorrowful and sincere look.

"Come on, Sakura." Naruto said, as gently as he could.

"Let's go to your apartment. You need to rest." Naruto continued.

Sakura responded with an ok. She wiped her tears and replaced her sad facial expression with an expressionless mask. The only thing that was truly hers: Her happy façade.

Half way to Sakura's apartment Naruto and her ran into the one and only Sasuke Uchiha, and the rest of Team Hebi.

**ooohhh, another cliffy. Oh and when I say 'With Naruto' or 'With Sakura' or 'With (insert name here)' it's **_**not**_** that person's pov. Just wanted to make that clear, so there will be no confusion.****No Tears Left to Cry ****and to ****Itachimeri1989 ****for reviewing! :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**All Bottled up**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Sasuke Pov  
A couple of minutes before running in to Naruto and Sakura.**

Kami, does Karin ever stop whining? She's been going on about our punishment for _hours._ The punishment wasn't so bad, considering what we've done. Nine months of probation, house arrest, and ANBU keeping tabs on us wasn't _that _bad. Note the sarcasm.

"Sasuke-kun." Karin whined.

"Don't you think this is soooo unfair?" Karin asked for the fiftieth time.

"God dang it you dog, shut up!" Yelled Suigetsu.

"Oh please, the only dog here is _you_." Karin countered back.

Suigetsu just gave her the birdie, while Karin stuck her tongue out at him. Juugo sighed, knowing those two never got along. 'Karin you do know, no matter how much you whine the Hokage will not show any mercy on us.' Juugo thought. He wanted to say it aloud, but he didn't have the heart to chide somebody, _even _Karin.

xxx

**With Team Hebi and Naruto and Sakura**

"OMG!" Karin snickered.

"Is that girl for real? Look at her hair. It's _pink._" Karin continued giggling.

Sasuke quickly regained focus when he heard _pink _and _hair _in the same sentence. He was surprised to see Naruto and Sakura staring wide-eyed at him. Of course he knew that they would 'reunite' again, but they caught him of guard. There was an awkward silence between them, and neither one of them seemed to want to break it. Eventually, Sakura tore her gaze of Sasuke, put an expressionless mask on, and looked at Karin.

"Damn right it's pink." Sakura stated in a cold voice.

"It's natural." She finished.

Karin was surprised by the girl's cold demeanor, but shrugged it off, nonetheless.

"Yeah like I'm supposed to believe that, Ms. I-have-pink-hair-_and_-a-wide-forehead" Karin retorted.

The atmosphere suddenly changed, and Karin was starting to feel a little intimidated, not that she would show it.

"Karin...." Suigetsu said warily.

"I don't think," Suigetsu continued, but was immediately interrupted by her.

"Of course you don't think." She scoffed.

"And look at how _fake_ she looks." Karin insulted.

Sakura looked unfazed by Karin's comments.

"Are you done talking?" Sakura asked her in a calm and collected voice.

Suigetsu chuckled and said: "I like you pink kitten, what's your name?"

Sakura averted her gaze to a guy with very sharp, shark like teeth.

"Unless you want to see daylight again, I wouldn't call me a pink kitten. Haruno Sakura." She replied.

Suigetsu smirked, and nodded.

"Pink kitten works fine with me." Suigetsu said innocently.

Sakura just smirked and sent him a death glare. 'Man, chicks and their mood swings.' Suigetsu thought. Karin interrupted them.

"You little slut don't talk to Suigetsu!" Karin yelled.

"I'm not a slut." Sakura defended.

"WHOWOWOWOW Karin, a little jealous are we?" Suigetsu said, while raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not jealous, I already have a boyfriend!" Karin smirked confidently.

"Heaven help that poor boy." Sakura muttered under her breath, fortunately nobody heard.

"It's Sasuke." Karin said proudly.

Sakura's eyes widened. And Naruto, who had been extremely quiet up until that point, started laughing.

**YAY! Another cliffy. I luv cliffies. I'm putting my other stories **_**another attempt **_**and **_**gone**_** on hiatus until I finish this fanfic. Srry. Thanks to all those who reviewed!!!!! You get lots and lots of cookies. ^^  
**

**MUHAHAHAHAHA I'm gonna take over the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

JK :P


	4. Chapter 4

**All Bottled Up**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**With Team Hebi, Naruto, and Sakura**

"What are you laughing at!?" Karin yelled, pissed.

"It's just that," Naruto began while wiping tears from his eyes.

"I've always thought Sasuke was gay. Which made me think: 'Could Karin really be a man?'"

Sakura and Suigetsu rolled their heads back in laughter, while Juugo gave a smirk. You could literally see smoke coming from Karin's ears, and Sasuke repressed his emotions as always, but you could see annoyance in his eyes.

"Yeah!" Suigetsu yelled, recovering from his 'laugh attack.'

"This explains everything." Sakura thought aloud, still giggling.

"Karin's manly hands, manly voice, and not to mention the fact her legs are hairier then they should be." Sakura finished.

"Why you little bitch!" Karin yelled at Sakura.

"Karin," Sasuke called calmly.

"Enough," He finished.

Karin threw a death glare at Sakura, and stuck her tongue out. She then proceeded to go to a very annoyed Sasuke. She put her arm around his waist, while Sasuke put his arm around her shoulders. Karin stared at Sakura in success.

**Sakura's Pov.**

Sakura narrowed her eyes, but other then that did nothing. Then realization struck her. Her parents. Could Sakura have been so engrossed and infatuated with their _reunion _that she forgot about her _parents_? Her eyes widened immensely.

Karin thought Sakura's eyes widened because Sasuke put his hand around her shoulders'. Juugo and Suigetsu thought the same as well.

Sasuke was not surprised in the least. After all Sakura Haruno was the same weak, annoying little girl that he left behind. He had known, of course, she learned a few tricks but that was about it. He had _not _known that she surpassed the Hokage herself, became the number one medic nin in all the nations, and was recently accepted into ANBU.

"You wish Sasuke was yours, but he's _mine_ and you can't have him." Karin smirked triumphantly.

Sakura was back in reality. 'Uchiha and his team couldn't have picked a better time to arrive.' Sakura thought, bitterly.

"Actually, you donkey, I was on my way to attend an urgent matter. Then _you _showed up out of nowhere." Sakura said with an expressionless mask on.

"Really, it's been wonderful chatting with you, but I must get going." Sakura finished.

Realization dawned upon Naruto, as well. He gave Sakura a worried glance, which was returned with a nod and a 'smile' by Sakura.

"It's ok, Naruto." Sakura started.

"I know you have unfinished business to do with Uchiha, and I don't want to keep you from doing it." She waved, and strutted forward.

"Wait a minute!" Karin screeched, as she stepped in front of Sakura to block her path.

"Really, Mr. Donkey, I have an urgent matter to attend to." Sakura explained a hint of desperation in her voice, which Sasuke caught.

"Karin, leave her alone. You can insult her later." Sasuke said with a sigh.

Karin thought about it.

"Ok, Sasuke-kunnnn" Karin agreed, seductively.

Everybody sweat dropped except for Sasuke and Karin.

"Wait a minute, pink kitten, can I come, too?" Suigetsu asked playfully _and _hopefully.

Sakura was about to say an outright 'no,' but then she thought _why? _Naruto for sure wasn't going to come with her, curtsey of Uchiha, and as much as she hated to admit it, she _needed _a shoulder to cry on, a friend, even though she just met Suigetsu.

She could always rely on Tsunade, or Shizune, but for some reason it didn't feel _right._ Sakura summed up an answer in her head that satisfied her.

"Go for it." Sakura said warily.

**Naruto's Reaction**

"_Go for it." Sakura said._

Naruto sweat dropped once more. 'How could she let a complete stranger know about her parents?' The thought echoed in his head.

He knew Sakura didn't want people to feel sorry for her, so why was she doing it? Naruto finally came to the conclusion that Sakura wanted to beat up shark dude, to burn of some steam.

He didn't blame her, after all shark dude was a wanted criminal, he was part of Sasuke's _new team_, and he didn't like how he called Sakura 'pink kitten.' He had a feeling Sakura didn't like it either.

**Sasuke's Reaction**

"_Go for it." Sakura said._Sasuke's eye twitched the slightest bit. You had to use a magnifying glass to even see it. _'Go for it?' _Sasuke thought. She _just _met Suigetsu, and she's letting him go to an 'urgent matter,' with her?

'Maybe it wasn't so urgent, after all.' He thought, but dismissed it.

There was definitely desperation in her voice, in her eyes as well. That's not something even an actress could pull of. So the question is this:

'Why does she want Suigetsu to go with her?'

'Something's not right.' He thought.

**Karin's Reaction**

"_Go for it." Sakura said. _

It took a while fore the information to sink into Karin's brain because she was expecting an immediate 'no,' from her.

She raised one of her eyebrows' up in curiosity; after all she just met Suigetsu. 'But then again Suigetsu's really hot!' Karin thought. She mentally slapped herself. She hated Suigetsu; as a matter of fact she _despised _him. She let the thought slide.

Karin made another assumption: 'That bitch wants Suigetsu for herself!'

She gritted her teeth in anger.

'I have to somehow manage to get away from Sasuke, and find out what that whore is up to.' Karin thought evilly.

'Not that I like him or anything…' She assured herself.

With that reassuring thought, and a smirk, she looked at Suigetsu's shock driven face.

**Suigetsu's Reaction**

"_Go for it." Sakura said._

**  
**At first Suigetsu looked at her in disbelief for these reasons: First of all, she said it was an _urgent matter._ You simply just don't invite people you've just met to go with you on an urgent matter. Second of all, as far as Suigetsu could tell, pink kitten, had trust issues. He doubted she would've even said yes to _Sasuke_.

He knew she practically hated him, not that she would show it, but Suigetsu sensed some '_unfinished business?_' between them.

"R-really?" Suigetsu stuttered, still in shock.

"Yes?" Sakura answered, but it came out more as a question.

"AWESOME!" Suigetsu shouted without hesitation.

"Where are we going?" He asked enthusiastically.

Sakura knew the last thing she wanted was anymore people finding out about her parents.

"Just follow me." She said.

**Regular Pov.**

Sakura and Suigetsu then left the 'group.' And Sakura just realized that Suigetsu would see her break down crying. Sakura has not cried since the Retrieval Arc for Sasuke. She bit her lip nervously.

From the corner of her eye, she could see, Sasuke, Karin, and Juugo leave, as Naruto called:

"Wait a minute, teme!"

"I have some unfinished business with you!"

'Same old Naruto.' Sakura thought.

Sakura was brought back to reality when Suigetsu asked:

"This 'urgent matter,' isn't about your parent's ambush is it?"

Sakura's eyes widened, and she got defensive.

"How do you know about my parents?" Sakura hissed, because the only people who could _possibly _know about her parents were Naruto, Shizune, Tsunade, and the Anbu.

So how could Suigetsu know?

**WARNING: I'm going to end most of my chapters with cliff hangers. TEE-HEE. If u review you get a lots of cookies. ^^ Oh and yeah I know there's no 'Juugo reaction' I didn't feel like he interacted with Sakura a lot, so he didn't have any thoughts to base his reaction upon. If that makes any sense. :) **


	5. Chapter 5

**All Bottled Up**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**With Suigetsu and Sakura**

"Answer me, God damn it!" Sakura yelled.

Suigetsu sensed dark aura vibrating of her.

"Take it easy, take it easy." Suigetsu said calmly.

Sakura growled at him, and put her black gloves on.

"Wow there, pink kitten." Suigetsu said nervously.

"Then tell me how you know." Sakura said threw clenched teeth.

Suigetsu sighed, a sign that he'd given in.

_Flashback:  
_

_Sasuke, Suigetsu, Karin, and Juugo were running top speed towards Konoha. _

_"Yo, Sasuke, are we there yet?" Suigetsu asked for the tenth time._

_"Hn." Sasuke replied._

_Karin giggled, while Suigetsu sighed. 'Typical,' he thought. Suigetsu stared around and saw birds were following Juugo. The birds were singing a tune, and after a while, Juugo hummed along with him. Ergo, Suigetsu started chanting:_

_"Juugo and the birds sitting in a box, naked, naked, oh my gosh!"_

_Juugo turned and to Suigetsu and gave him the birdie._

_"Ouch." Suigetsu said, pretending to be hurt._

_"Oh, why don't all of you just shut up!?!" Karin screeched._

_"Except for you of course, Sasuke-kun." Karin said flirtatiously._

_From the corner of his eye, Sasuke looked at Karin. But other than that, he didn't reply._

_"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!"_

_All four heads snapped up as they heard an ear piercing scream._

_End of Flashback:_

**Suigetsu telling the rest of the story from his Pov.**

"After a few moments, he told us to ignore it." Suigetsu continued.

"Of course me being me, I made a clone. I told it to go to the direction of the scream. About an hour later, it came back to me."

Sakura was now listening intently.

"He came and told me there was one female, and one male, who where ambushed. My clone said they looked like zombies."

"He also came with a message. It was to tell there daughter, Haruno Sakura, that they loved her very much, and that they were sorry they couldn't say a proper goodbye." Suigetsu finished.

**Regular Pov.**

There were now tears in Sakura's eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

"Don't worry. Sasuke and the others don't know about it."

_Why?_ Sakura thought. 'Why _me?_' Her knees buckled before her. She was expecting to hit the ground, when two strong arms caught her. Suigetsu's arms.

Sakura broke down crying, for the first time in years. Suigetsu stiffened; after all it wasn't everyday a girl cried on you. He hugged Sakura, which was returned after long moments of hesitation.

"You tell anyone about this, I'll kill you." Sakura said, but it came out muffled, since she was sobbing.

"Yeah, yeah," Suigetsu replied with a smirk.

Sakura's sobs soon died down. Suigetsu took this moment to speak.

"Do you want to be alone or…?" Suigetsu asked.

"No….." Sakura said coolly.

"I want to know why you didn't save them!" Sakura yelled furiously.

'Uh oh,' Suigetsu thought. He was trying to figure out how to tell Sakura news that may or may not scar her. And/or get her pissed.

"Um…well you see…Sasuke…said not to."

Suigetsu waited for Sakura to absorb the information.

"I…um…he looked like he knew them." Suigetsu finished, warily.

Sakura thought about this. Her parents _had _met Sasuke before. And Sasuke wasn't one to forget. Her parent's looks didn't change much either, other then a few wrinkles and gray hairs, but that was pretty much it. 'That Sunovabish!' Sakura thought.

Sakura looked at Suigetsu and said:

"Tell me where Uchiha is." Sakura said in a command. It wasn't a question, for sure.

"Uh..?" Suigetsu weighed the pros and cons of leading Sakura to Sasuke.

'Pros- Sasuke gets beaten up and/or dies. Cons- Sasuke gets beaten up and/or dies.' Suigetsu thought. 'The odds seem the same…'

"Uchiha compound," He finally answered.

An evil smile spread across Sakura's features. In a puff of smoke she teleported herself to the Uchiha compound. Little did she know, Karin had been watching the whole thing.

**CLIFFIES!!!!! ^^So what do you think? R&R, please. Those who review get more updated chapters _and _more cookies :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**All Bottled Up**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Sakura's Pov.**

'That Bastard!' I thought, while swinging the front gates of the Uchiha compound open.

I didn't bother to knock.

I made way up the path leading to the compound. I heard yells coming from one of the training areas. 'Who could that be?' I thought. Then I remembered.

_Flashback:_

_Wait a minute teme, I have some unfinished business with you!" Naruto yelled._

_End Flashback:_

_"_Of course!" I thought aloud.

'Naruto said that he wanted to fight Sasuke!' I thought that part silently.

**Regular Pov.**

It was then Sakura saw them. Not just Sasuke and Naruto, but Karin as well. Sakura couldn't make out what the conversation was about, but frankly she didn't care.

"You monster!" Sakura yelled while rapidly approaching the group.

All three heads snapped up at her voice.

"What do you think you're doing here!?!" Growled Karin, even though she knew.

"Shut up!" Sakura snapped at her.

Karin flinched, and for the first time obeyed.

"Hey Sakura-chan, I was about to kick the living daylights…." Naruto started, but his enthusiasm quickly died down when he saw the look Sakura was giving him.

Sakura turned her eyes toward Sasuke. He was calm, cool, and collected. No emotion was shown on his face. Sakura hated that.

"You bastard!" Sakura started yelling.

Sasuke growled at the insult, but no emotion played on his features.

"How dare you! Stupid son of a bish! You should burn in hell, and on your way there say hi to Orochimaru for me! After all he was the one who turned you into a stoic ice cube!" Sakura stopped for a moment to take a deep breath.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. How dare she talk like that to him. Still, he was curious to find out what it was about.

"How can you leave my parents for dead?!?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. So it was about that. Karin warned him Sakura might come to get some payback.

"Um, I think I'm just going to go now." Naruto said while chuckling nervously.

"The hell you are!" Sakura said to Naruto.

Naruto winced. Karin as well.

"Uhh… I'll just go see what Suigetsu's doing." Karin said warily.

Sakura's eye twitched.

Naruto and Karin made a run for it.

**Just with Sakura and Sasuke**

"Sakura," Sasuke stated coolly.

Sakura hated the way he said her name.

"I think you owe me an explanation." Sakura stated after she cooled down a bit. Apparently insulting people did make her feel a bit better.

"There was no way I, or anyone else, could save them." Sasuke chose his words carefully. Not that he would ever admit it, but Naruto's punches have improved. He didn't want to face Sakura's punches as well.

"Did you at least try?" She asked, in hope he hadn't completely let go of humanity.

"No," He stated calmly.

"Do y-you want me to go through what you went through? Do you want me to mourn for my parents as much as you did? So I can finally feel your pain? Do you have some kind of subconscious death wish? Because if my parents don't survive, I'll get revenge on you. Just like you got revenge on Itatchi."

Sasuke's face showed no emotion, but inside he was feeling a little bit of guilt. Just a little bit. And annoyance.

After long moments of silence, he finally found an answer that he was looking for.

"You're still annoying." Sasuke said, while smirking.

Sakura's response wasn't what he expected. It all happened so fast, not even his reflexes could have caught her chakra induced punch.

"SUNOVABISH!"She yelled while sending him flying with a chakra induced punch.

She put forty-five percent of her chakra into that punch. She knew she needed all the chakra she could save in order to help heal her parents but, man, Sasuke deserved that. And it made Sakura feel good.

After flying through twenty-three friggin' trees, Sasuke finally came to a stop. The punch was directed at his stomach, and blood was coming out of his mouth. He got up and wiped the corner of his lips.

"That's what you get." Sakura hissed.

"There'll be more where that came from if my parents don't survive." With those words, she turned around and started to leave.

"Sakura, wait!" Sasuke yelled in a raspy voice.

Sakura stopped, but didn't look back. After a few moments; suddenly, but unsurprisingly, she was pinned to a tree by the one andonly_ Sasuke Uchiha._

**_Yeah I know cliffies. R&R! Tell me what u think so far of the story! _**


	7. Chapter 7

**All Bottled Up**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**Firstly, I am so sorry for not updating. There's a more heart felt apology in my profile... hehe..You have to scroll down a bit to see it, though :P But I'm very, very sorry I haven't updated lately. To make it up, here's a new chapter. :) **

"Get _off_ me!" Sakura yelled, struggling against Sasuke.

She could understand that he was irritated, annoyed, angry, etc. because she punched him. She also knew that he would want to return the favor, but she didn't think that it would have happened _now_. Hell, she even thought that he would've let it go, considering he didn't even _try _to save her parents...

He probably didn't feel any remorse at all. But how could he have gotten up so fast? How could he have crossed a fifty yard area in a matter of two seconds? After flying through trees, shouldn't you be hurt?

If Sasuke was, he didn't show it.

He was still pinning Sakura to the tree. He growled, and his eyes were starting to turn red. It definitely wasn't Sharringan. This red was different. It was _blood red_.

Sakura mentally gasped, but she wasn't going to show him that she was afraid. Not in a million years. She was _not_ the weak girl anymore. She was strong. And if Sasuke didn't get off of her in fifteen seconds, she wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

She started forming plans in her head. If she could get out of his grip, she'd head right for his jugular.

But _how_?

He had pinned her arms and legs... and then a thought struck her. She would release chakra everywhere on her body, turning it into an electrical field. Tsunade taught her that two years back. She said it was a bit like Chidori, but it required more chakra concentration. If she wasn't careful and precise with her chakra release, she would end up electrocuting herself, instead.

Sakura started to summon chakra when Sasuke pushed her harder into the tree.

Sakura didn't wince, still not giving in. She would not show _any_ sign of weakness to him.

She was still building up chakra for the release. She breathed in and out evenly, concentrating as much as she could despite the fact that she was pinned uncomfortably against a tree.

But then Sasuke's grip on her tightened, and she felt something crawling inside of her...

She looked at Sasuke's face. His eyes were still red, and he had a wide smirk on this face. Chakra radiated out of his hands, and into her body.

But his chakra was all wrong...

It was as if tiny insects were crawling underneath her skin.

"This is what you get for punching me," Sasuke hissed.

Sakura could feel her eye lids droop. Her breathing came out uneven, and she needed to use her mouth to get enough oxygen into her system.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked.

It came out in a hoarse whisper.

Sasuke didn't respond.

"What is this?" She said a bit louder.

She was getting more and more tired.

When Sasuke didn't respond, she quickly scanned her mind for any information on what he was doing.

Basically, he was giving her chakra. But not the right kind... It might be a jutsu... Or a jutsu _on_ the chakra... She was beginning to get too tired to think.

"Don't bother trying to figure out what I'm doing," Sasuke said. "It's my own jutsu."

Sakura stared long and hard at him. How could she get out of this one?

"The thing you feel under your skin is my chakra changing your chakra." He said.

"Hey, Sasuke, what are you doing?" Said Suigetsu.

He had just entered the Uchiha compound. He had gotten a little bored inside, and decided to come out. And what did he find? Sasuke pinning Sakura to a tree.

Sakura somehow managed to turn her head, which felt unusually heavy, towards Suigetsu. She saw how Suigetsu had raised his eyebrows up, suggestively. He probably thought that Sasuke and Sakura were going at it.

'Stupid,' Sakura thought.

But how could she blame him? From the outside she didn't think it looked like Sasuke was draining the living daylights out of her. It probably looked like they were having some fun.

She twisted her face in disgust.

"Help," She called to Suigetsu, summoning up the remaining strength that she had.

She didn't want to seem weak, but it was better than fainting and/or dying in front of Sasuke.

"He can't help you now, Sakura. It's too late." Sasuke said, evilly.

How dare she punch him? It was only right for her to get some sort of punishment.

Because Sasuke had not been paying close attention to Suigetsu, he got knocked of his feet. He tumbled into the ground, and quickly got up, activating his Sharringan.

He saw Suigetsu helping Sakura up.

"What the _fuck_. Why did you fucking do that?" Sasuke yelled.

Suigetsu turned to look at him. He could be asking Sasuke the same thing. He decided Sasuke was unimportant. He knew that the jutsu he had just performed exhausted him for a few minutes afterwards. If Suigetsu wanted to put up a fight with him right now, he could easily win... But only for a few minutes.

So he focused on Sakura instead.

"Are you alright?" He asked her.

"No," She replied, simply.

Sakura felt _horrible_. It was like she was recovering from a hangover, had broken both her arms and legs, and was suffering from cancer, all at the same time.

"Yeah," Suigetsu said. "You don't look good, either."

"Gee, thanks so much. You really know how to make me feel better."

Suigetsu chuckled while Sakura sighed in pain.

Sasuke was watching the exchange before him. The jutsu _had _exhausted him, but he was beginning to feel his strength return to him. He'd teach Suigetsu a lesson soon.

"Suigetsu, I'm going to kill you." Sasuke said, heartlessly.

It sounded like a promise.

When Sakura heard those words, she became utterly confused. He had just intended to kill his old teammate, and now he threatened to kill his new teammate. Sakura couldn't believe how _cold_ Sasuke had become.

She knew he was distant before he went to Orochimaru, but he had never given a single hint of wanting to kill his teammates.

Sakura suddenly remembered a memory. Three years after Sasuke left, Naruto, Sai, Yamato, and her found Sasuke. That's when Sasuke tried to kill Naruto. If Sai hadn't intervened, Sakura would be at the cemetery right now, visiting Naruto's grave.

Anger began to rise within her. When she got all of her strength back, she would make sure that Sasuke paid big time.

Suigetsu ignored Sasuke. He knew Sasuke would fight him, and he knew that he would get hurt. But Sasuke wouldn't kill him. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but because he couldn't. Sasuke knew Tsunade would send him to prison. She might even give him the death penalty. And there would go his chance of rebuilding his clan.

"Let's go, Sakura," Suigetsu said. "Can you walk?"

Sakura was surprised that Suigetsu was being so nice to her. They barely just met. Whether it was because he felt guilty for not saving her parents, she didn't know. All she did know was that he was flirting with her one minute, letting her cry on his shoulder the next, and saving her the last.

Sakura tried to stand up, but couldn't.

"Let me lie down for a while," she said to him. "I just need a few more minutes of rest."

Suigetsu stared at her. In a few minutes, Sasuke would jump into a fight with them.

Suigetsu sighed, picked Sakura up, and started running away from Sasuke. She wanted to protest, but figured it was for the best.

Meanwhile, Sasuke watched Suigetsu take Sakura away in his arms.

'Suigetsu _and _Sakura will pay...' He thought.

...

"Where to, Your Highness?" Suigetsu asked sarcastically, when they were at a safe distance away from Sasuke.

Sakura rolled her eyes. She felt a bit better, but she was still tired. She wondered if she should go to the hospital. If she did, Tsunade would ask who nearly killed her. If she said Sasuke, Tsunade would lock him up. And Sakura would never get her revenge. On the other hand, she couldn't go home to heal herself. She didn't have enough chakra for that...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud screech, and someone yelling 'Sakura!'.

"Ech," Suigetsu said, disgusted. "Karin."

"What are you doing holding that bitch in your hands!" Shouted Karin.

Sakura saw Suigetsu sigh. She knew Karin was annoying and apparently so did everyone else.

"Jealous, much?" Muttered Suigetsu, while rolling his eyes.

"I am _not _jealous!" She yelled.

Karin, in fact, _was _jealous. She wouldn't let anyone know how jealous she was of Sakura. In her mind, Sakura had everything. Ok, so maybe her parents were ambushed, and sure, she did have a time period in her life which was pretty crappy.

She could see that Sakura tried not to let anyone know that she was suffering. But Karin could tell she had not gotten over it. She, on the other hand, had experienced a lot more traumatizing events than Sakura. But she does not continue to mourn. She got over it. Of course, she was sad at first. But then she learned how to let go.

Crying would not bring things back like they used to be.

Karin knew that.

Sakura knew that.

Sasuke knew that.

Naruto knew that.

Hell.

Everybody knew that.


	8. Chapter 8

**All Bottled Up**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Ok, so far, there hasn't really been any romance... just fights... I want Sasuke and Sakura's relationship to be gradual. (Sasuke pinning Sakura to the tree was somewhat gradual:P) This chapter may have some fluff... but not the romance fluff, just happiness fluff... lol does that even make sense? Ok, just read the chapter and find out for yourselves:D**

Sakura was too busy looking at the raging Karin that she didn't notice Naruto had approached her until he asked her if she was alright. She diverted her attention to Naruto. There was obvious concern on the blonde ninja's face.

"What happened?" He asked her.

Sakura pondered whether she should tell Naruto the truth: That she had been fighting with Sasuke, and that she had lost. Naruto would either go rushing to Tsunade, telling her that Sasuke hurt her, and/or he would go and kill Sasuke himself. Lying to Naruto was not an option, because he had seen the developing fight between them at the very beginning, when she accused Sasuke of not saving her parents.

To Sakura's amazement, Karin answered for her, in a somewhat bitter voice.

"Nothing happened, of course! She's just pretending so she can be held by Suigetsu in her arms."

Sakura blinked a few times, and stared at Karin intently. Could she have really come to that conclusion? That Sakura would pretend to be hurt for attention?

"Karin," Suigetsu addressed her calmly, while putting Sakura down.

She got up onto her feet, dusted herself off, and went to stand beside Naruto. She was feeling much better now, compared to what she was feeling a few minutes ago. If she could regain her stamina that fast, she began to wonder if Sasuke already regained his. She also wondered if Sasuke would be coming for Suigetsu to keep his promise...

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Suigetsu's question to Karin.

"Why are you so jealous of Sakura?"

Suigetsu had asked the same question only a few moments ago, but this time there was curiosity in his voice, and a bit of understanding. This wasn't the Suigetsu Sakura had known so far. This one was gentler, more sympathetic. Sakura then began to wonder if this was a transformation jutsu. Tsunade had taught her a lot of things, and one of those things was to tell if someone was using a transformation jutsu, by concentrating on their chakra. She closed her eyes and focused only on Suigetsu. His chakra was the same as it had been since they first met.

"Sakura, are you seriously ok? Maybe you should go see Tsunade." Naruto suggested while whispering, only for her ears to hear, probably not wanting to interrupt the conversation Karin and Suigetsu were having.

He assumed Sakura closed her eyes because she was tired or in pain. Sakura told him that she could heal herself. As much as she loved Naruto, in a brother/sister way of course, she couldn't really focus on him right now. She was too engrossed in Suigetsu's conversation with Karin. Sakura knew that was a bit messed up, because she could care less about what Karin had to say, but she was curious to know how Karin would reply, mainly because of Suigetsu's question and his way of saying it.

"What kind of question is that?" She asked.

A question answered with a question. But she had asked that question with such emotion in her voice. Her voice was almost soft, not the screech it had always been. Sakura began thinking that every member of Team Hebi had multiple personality disorders.

"A question that needs an answer," He replied. "Now it's your turn to answer my question."

Suigetsu was very clever. Evidently, Sakura could see that. He answered the question in a tranquil, informative tone that was almost sweet. But there was the slightest bit of sarcasm in there. He knew how to adjust his voice when he needed too. That was a complicated art even a negotiator couldn't fully master.

Karin held her head down to the ground, practically examining her own feet. Her head snapped back up in a swift motion, and with her pointer finger she pushed the rim of her glasses back up against her nose.

"Why should I be jealous of her?" She answered, the screech now back in her voice.

"I'm stronger, prettier, and _better_ than her. I even have her childhood crush, Sasuke. She couldn't get him to love her, but I _did_. Like I said before, I am better than her, and I absolutely have no need to be jealous of her!"

Sakura wasn't the least bit offended. She hadn't seen Karin's range of abilities, but from what she heard she was only good at chakra tracing. She couldn't care if Karin was prettier, but Sakura knew that she was practically at the same level with her, if not even higher. There were men who went for sluttly looking women, who were very spoiled and were used to get everything they wanted. And there were men who wanted women who are kind, who are understanding and responsible. She concluded that there were many types of beauty. Sakura didn't even know how Karin even _thought _that she was better than her. Sakura dismissed that thought. And as for Sasuke, _her childhood crush_, well, to say the truth, Sakura couldn't care less if he died. Actually, she'd be pretty happy if she was the one who caused his death.

She was about to say something snappy, despite the offensive rationality of her thoughts which, if said, would anger Karin even further. But Naruto beat her to it.

"Who do you think you _are_?" He asked, while yelling.

"You don't know a damn _thing _about Sakura! She's superior to you, you _slut_. Just because you've got Sasuke doesn't mean a _shit_. He's probably just with you because no one else wanted to be with him to rebuild his frigging clan! Sakura is the woman who has lots of friends that like her. You just wish you had friends. Sakura is a woman with natural beauty, unlike you, who appears to have gotten a facelift and a bad nose job. She's the woman who you want to be, but _never_ will be, because of your snotty attitude!"

Sakura, Karin, and Suigetsu were taking aback by what Naruto had just said. Sure, Sakura had heard many of his long, meaningful speeches before but this one was way out of the blue and, without a doubt, utterly surprising. Since when did he know what facelifts and nose jobs were?

Sakura's surprised, frozen state dissolved into a fit of laughter. Not fake laughter that went along with her façade, but _real, humorous laughter._ She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so hard. Through her tears of joy, she could see that Naruto stood gazing hardly and unfriendly to Karin. You could tell that he was taking this seriously, but apparently didn't mind Sakura's laughter. It was almost like he _wanted _and _expected _her to laugh. Karin looked shocked, and a little bit hurt. Suigetsu was still taken aback, and a few moments later, he didn't laugh as Sakura expected him to. Instead, he just closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side slowly.

Her laughter slowly disappeared, a _few_ giggles escaping now and there in the process. And then Karin said the utmost impossible.

"You think I don't know all of that?"

Karin fidgeted for a bit and then continued talking.

"Sasuke... Sasuke talks in his sleep, and he would always mutter how awful the death of his clan had been, and how he found some sort of happiness in Team 7...but not with Team Hebi."

Sakura could see that Karin started looking very uncomfortable, and she wondered if she was lying. Sasuke talked in his sleep? She had never known that. She went on so many missions with him before, but she never once remembered him sleep-talking. She looked at her face, and found no sign of dishonesty. And then Karin's words sunk in. Sasuke had been happy with Team 7. A sort of smile broke across Sakura's face. She completely forgot everything around her, except the fact that Sasuke had been happy with Naruto, Kakashi, and her. But more importantly, he had been somewhat happy because of _her_.

Her smile became more prominent, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Naruto grinning like the fool he was. It must have been a complete relief to him that his time together with Sasuke wasn't in vain. To Sakura, it was like a release. But she couldn't help but think that Karin might be making this all up, and as soon as her smile had come, it vanished. She looked at Suigetsu again. Surely, if Karin was lying, he would say something, right? Or would he wait until Karin had finished talking to say something, to say what Sakura had suspected. That Karin was lying. She decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. She would not get too excited about what Karin was going to say, because it might not be true, but she wouldn't get to sad either, because it _might_ be true.

"He always used to mumble about how great of a sensei Kakashi was. He also used to say that he thought Naruto was like his brother, despite the fact that he could be a nuisance sometimes."

Naruto's lips were set in a firm line. Sakura could see that he had come up with the same conclusion, and that he had decided to give Karin the benefit of the doubt as well. Still, Sakura couldn't ignore that his cerulean eyes widened like saucers, and that they brightened like the stars in the night sky.

"And then there was you," Karin said resentfully, looking at Sakura. "He used to mumble lots of things about you."

Sakura was surprised to say the least. She knew she hadn't affected Sasuke's childhood very much. She knew she had annoyed him like hell. She had been a burden to him. She narrowed her eyes, and thought that what he said about her would be something dire. But then she remembered Karin's cynical voice as she said it. It was almost like she was _jealous_, and as Sakura had recently found out, Karin was indeed very jealous of her. And she could see Suigetsu, nodding his head in agreement. She could see Naruto pipe up his interest. Although Sakura didn't think anything could surprise him more than what Sasuke had said. That Naruto was like a brother to him.

"The things he said about you..." Karin said, while shaking her head.

"He never said those things about me, and I'm his girlfriend."

What could Sasuke have said about her, and not to Karin, his _girlfriend_? By her jealous tone, Sakura began to wonder if it was something... good. But she didn't want to jump to any conclusions. Not yet. She had agreed that what Karin would say wouldn't affect her, because there was always the possibility that she could be lying. But Suigetsu seemed to agree with what Karin had said, and there was just so much _honesty _in Karin's voice that Sakura would have never imagined possible.

"What... what did he say?" Sakura asked.

She knew if Karin said Sasuke said something 'good' about her, she would let her hopes rise up again. Maybe Sasuke and her could at least be friends. Her mind started conjuring images of friendship and happiness, and possibly even romance. But then she remembered that Sasuke's dreams were to become stronger and to rebuild his clan. He was a traitor that walked out on the village. And what Karin said didn't fit quite right. If he thought Naruto as his own brother, why did he leave? Sakura knew that Sasuke was an avenger, and he wanted to kill Itachi for what he had done, so she thought there was an answer to that... But why had he tried to kill Naruto? Why didn't he save Sakura's parents? Why had he almost killed her, if he thought such 'good' things about her?

"He said..." Karin began, then shook her head rapidly back and forth.

Her shoulders were moving up and down, like she was silently... _crying_? Naruto looked a bit disappointed that he didn't get to hear what Sasuke really thought about Sakura, but there was a bit of sympathy on his face. Sakura sighed. No matter how much Naruto hated somebody, he still felt remorse for them. But she bet the look of disappointment showed on her face, too. She really wanted to know what Sasuke said about her, but she thought it was probably for the best that she didn't know. She must not let her hopes rise once more. Suigetsu looked uncomfortable, not sure what to do about his crying teammate, perhaps. He opened his mouth to say something- Was he going to finish Karin's sentence? Or was he going to try to comfort her?- But apparently decided against it.

Sakura left, not wanting to witness crying Karin, an uncomfortable Suigetsu, and a should-I-hope-that-Team 7-would-be-like-it-used-to thoughtful Naruto. She just couldn't stand it. So many people's lives have been messed up just because of _his_. Of course, the people he cared about were murdered by his own brother. But this was too much for Sakura. How dare he destroy other people's lives for his own self. She would go and search for Sasuke, and this time, she would not fight him. She would talk to him. Naruto strode silently beside her, probably thinking the same thing.

Nothing mattered more right now than possibly getting their old teammate back, or possibly losing him for good.


End file.
